At 10 a.m. I met with the girls at
Starbucks to discuss the upcoming presentation. We divided the topics between
us and agreed to meet again over the weekend to plot it all into a nice PPT and
perhaps have a little rehearsal.

At noon, Astrid, Ouafa and I set off for
downtown. Wandered around the big malls at Nanjing Rd for a while, but found
nothing we wanted to buy there. Ouafa went off on her own and Astrid and I
started walking down Maoming Rd. We soon arrived on Changle Rd and started
shopping. We both needed a couple of t-shirts and Changle Rd is the place to
get them. Walked up the road for a while, occasionally popping into a friendly
looking store. We both picked up a few t-shirts and I even found a much needed
pair of shoes.

It is interesting to note how completely
absent the concept of service and “the customer is always right” is in Chinese
shops. Those working in the story were mostly completely indifferent to our
presence there and often pushed us out of the way if they we were looking at a
rack that they felt needed attention. In most of the shops we left in annoyance
at the staff. A basic understanding of consumer behaviour would have lifted
some of these shops to unimaginable levels, thanks to the vast number of
potential customers.

After a long walk, we decided to take a
taxi to the fake market On Nanjing Rd. Astrid wanted to pick up some things
before going home, and I figured I might do the same. Ended up getting a few
things, but it was generally an unpleasant experience. I hope it was the last
time I had to go there. Maybe in a couple of years it will be fun again, but
today it was an exhausting experience. These people could also have benefited
from a service course.

At 3 p.m., we returned to Linping and got
some lunch. I relaxed in the apartment for a little while before heading out
once more.

Met AG, Gigi and Arill at Starbucks at 6
p.m. Sat around chatting for a little while. Just before 7 p.m., Arill, Gigi
and I set off for the restaurant A Future Perfect on Huashan Rd. We shared a
bottle of wine and had a fantastic dinner. I ordered what I believed was a
steak, but got not one, not two, but three good sized steaks. And they were
absolutely delicious. We sat outside in the garden for a while, enjoying the
locale and the weather. Delightful.

At 9 p.m. we returned to Linping. Over the
course of the dinner I had convinced them that Rear Window is the most
fantabulous movie of all time and they were eager to see it. I collected it
from my apartment and we all sat down over at Gigis’ to watch it. It truly is
as wonderful as I remembered. Not sure if everyone agreed with me, but at least
no one fell asleep.

I returned to my own apartment at midnight
and was in bed soon afterwards.